Amid the Despair and Sorrow, We’re Finding Strength in Togetherness…
With heavy hearts, we mourn with our communities…
Lunar New Year is one of the most important and joyous holidays each year. At the same time, the continued violence against our communities – most recently in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay – has left many of us with heavy hearts, fear, and a deeper resolve to keep each other safe. Keeping each other safe does not mean increasing police presence in our communities; it means fighting against the type of police terror and state-sanctioned violence that killed yet another young Black man, Tyre Nichols, in Memphis this month.
We mourn for all of these lives that were recently lost, and we hold the families and communities they left behind in our hearts.
We understand the layers of trauma and pain that these acts of violence inflict not just on the individual victims and their families, but also on the community level. Less than two years ago, our own Atlanta community was rocked by a mass shooting that targeted Asian-owned spas and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian migrant women massage workers. We remember the way that people from all over the world wrapped care around the victims, their family members, and our wider community—joining us in our grief and standing with us against white supremacist violence. In this same way, we stand with and amongst those grieving today.
Amid the despair and sorrow, we're finding strength in togetherness. We’re rooting more deeply into the meaning of the Lunar New Year by supporting one another in solidarity. We continue to come together with Black and Brown communities to build a world where we can all be free, safe, and at peace. From Atlanta to Memphis to Southern California to the Bay Area and beyond, we must continue to show up for each other.
IF YOU NEED SUPPORT IN THIS HARD TIME
Violence against our communities can be hard to process and can bring up past traumas. If you or someone you know needs someone to talk to, counseling, or other support in this hard time, to LA vs. Hate’s 24/7 confidential hotline by calling 211.
Our sister organization, Advancing Justice SOCAL, has helplines available in 7 different languages including Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, and English.
A list of AAPI resources are available at the AAPI Equity Resource Directory, including in-language mental health services.
Additional resources and support information can be found on the Stop AAPI Hate website.
DONATE TO VICTIMS’ AND SURVIVORS’ FUNDS
Donate to the MONTEREY PARK LUNAR NEW YEAR VICTIMS FUND to provide financial support to family members of victims and their families. The fund was created by a coalition of organizations including Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), Stop AAPI Hate, Asian Pacific Community Fund, The Asian American Foundation, Stand with Asian Americans, Gold House, AAPI Equity Alliance, Chinatown Service Center, Asian Youth Center and Project by Project.
Donate to the HALF MOON BAY VICTIMS FUND. Following a mass shooting this Monday, January 23, that killed seven farmworkers, our affiliate organization, Advancing Justice-ALC, and others launched a GoFundMe campaign to provide direct relief to the survivors and surviving families of the Half Moon Bay shooting. 100% of proceeds will be donated to directly-impacted individuals.
Donate to Tyre Nichols Memorial Fund run by his mother to support the costs of mental health services and financial support for his parents, as well as a memorial skate park for Tyre. (CW: image of Tyre injured in hospital at top of the page)
In solidarity with our communities grieving across the country,
Advancing Justice - Atlanta
